Ernest unger and philip f



(NoM0de1.)

E. UNGER 8: P. F. KRUG. PRESSURE REGULATOR.

No. 498,996. I V Patented June 6, 1893.

NlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ERNEST UN GER AND PHILIP F. KRUG, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.; SAID KRUG ASSIGNOR TO SAID UNGER.

PRESSURE-REGULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,996, dated June 6, 1893. Application filed February 2, 1893- Serial No. 460,750- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that we, ERNEST UriGER and PHILIP F. KRUG, citizens of the United States, and residents of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pressure-Regulators, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention refers to that class of devices for regulating the pressure of gases and their discharge from reservoirs wherein such gases have been stored under pressure, in which a valve is adjusted within the outlet passage from the reservoir in such a manner as to be actuated in its movements by a diaphragm which is subject to the pressure of the gas within the casing of the regulator.

The purposes of our invention are first, to provide means for discharging gas stored under high and varying pressure through the regulator under steady and low pressure; second, to prevent, in a measure, the injurious wearing of the moving parts of the regulator and to provide simple means for readj usting the regulator in case such wearing or other injurious changes should have taken place; third, to provide means to regulate the pressure under which the gas is to leavethe regu lator. We accomplish these and other useful purposes by means of the appliances illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherem- Figure 1 represents a vertical central section of a device embodying all the features of our invention, and Fig. 2 such a section of part of said device, somewhat modified.

Corresponding numerals in both figures refer to corresponding parts.

3 is a nipple havingascrew-threaded recess at its lower end, whereby it may be connected with the reservoir containing gas under pressure.

4 is a regulating valve, constructed with a conical lower end, and adjusted to move between proper guiding ridges, within a recess at the upper end of said nipple, so as to have a tendency to move upward when gas from the reservoir begins to enter the regulator, 5 being a channel connecting said two recesses in the nipple.

6 and 7 are casings, which jointly form the regulator casing, 6 being attached to nipple 3 by screw-thread and 7 being connected with 6 by bolts 8, 8, the outer rim of a diaphragm 9 being also firmly secured by said bolts between parts 6 and 7. The central part of diaphragm 9 is perforated, its inner rim being confined between two collars 11 and 12. 13 is a diaphragm likewise perforated and having its inner rim confined between collar 12 and a collar 14, bolts 15,15 serving to tightly clamp together said collars and diaphragms. 16 is another diaphragm perforated in its center.

17 is an elastic packing ring arranged between the outer rims of diaphragms l4 and 16, while 18 and 19 are collars and 20, 2O bolts serving to confine the outer rims of diaphragins 13 and 16 between such collars. and to secure tight joints between the same and packing ring 17.

21 is a rod provided with ashoulder 22. 23 is a packing ring between said shoulder and the inner rim of diaphragm 16. The part of rod 21 above shoulder 22 extends outside of easing 7 and is provided with screw-thread 2a and is reduced in thickness near its upper end and provided there with screw-thread 25.

26 is a collar above the central part of diaphragm 16, and 27 a tube with a flange .28 at its upper end, its lower interior part being made to engage with screw-thread 24 on rod 21, and by means of this screw-thread arrangement it is made possible to screw said tube downward until its lower end comes to rest firmly on collar 26 and thereby clamps diaphragm 16 between collar 26 and packing ring 23, thus securing a tight joint.

29 isa jam nut for maintaining rod 21 and I tube 27 in their proper relative positions.

30 is a nut secured by apin 31 to the upper end of rod 21. Said nut simply serves as a handle. Rod 21 works loosely through the central aperture of the tubular body formed by collars 11, 12 and 14, a small annular space 32 being thus left between said rod and IOC upper end of nipple 3. Said lugs carry a pivot 35 which serves as fulcrum for the two hinged angular levers 36,36. The lower ends of said levers are constructed as eccentrics resting on the top of valve 4, the eccentricity of the points of contact between such levers and such valve being made to decrease as the upper ends of the levers swing inward. The upper ends of the levers carry rollers 37, 37, the leaf springs 38, 38 resting against said levers and attached to casing 6 serving to at all times enforce contact between said rollers and the sloping sides of shoe 32.

39, 39 represent ridges along said slopes for guiding said rollers.

is the outlet from casing 6 through which the gas is discharged.

41 is a spiral spring coiled around the body of valve 4 and resting on proper shoulders provided on nipple Such springis intended to prevent catching of the valve on the guides surrounding it and to confine its upper face in contact with the levers 36, 36 thereby keeping the valve open to a slight extent before the gas enters casing 6. After the regulator has been attached to the high pressure reservoir and communication with the same has been opened, the gas will flow through passage 5 and around valve 4 into casing 6 and will expand therein, passing also throughannular space 32 into the space between diaphragms 13 and 16. The pressure of the gas so expanded being greater than the pressure of the atmosphere which exists between casing 7 and said diaphragm, diaphrams 13 and 16 will be made to bulge outward, thereby drawing upward rod 21 through the tubular body 11, 12, 14. This upward motion of rod 21 and of shoe 33 attached to it will be further increased owing to the simultaneous expansion upward of diaphragm 9 which carries such tubularbody. It will thus be seen that by employing a compound diaphragm consisting of two or more diaphragms, such as 9, 13 and 16 connected as shown, we are able to produce within a casing of comparatively small diameter a considerable movement of pressure rod 21, wherebya re ulator of small size may nevertheless be made very sensitive. Such compound diaphragms we intend to employ in particular where metallic diaphragms which are less yielding and elastic than rubberdiaphragms must be used owing to the nature of the gas passing through the regulator.

Fig. 1 represents approximately the extreme position'to which the compound diaphragm may be expanded and the corre sponding positions which levers 36, 36 and valve 4 will then assume. It will be particularly noticed that as the pressure on the diaphragm increases and its expansion is thereby effected and shoe 33 is thereby made to move upward with red 21, the upper ends of levers 36, 36 will be forced outward while valve 4 is forced downward by the eccentrics thereby tending to diminish the inflow of gas; and

further that owing to the great difference in the length of the arms of the lever a very gradual movement of the valve is secured. Of course, a reduction of pressure within casing 6 will cause movements of the diaphragm and of the levers and the valve in directions opposite to those described above. We prefer to use two levers 36, 36 as indicated in the drawings arranged symmetrically with reference to valve 4 and shoe 33, as this will insure a true vertical movement of the valve and will thus reduce wearing of the same, but it will be seen that one such lever would be sufficient to communicate movement of the diaphragm to the valve. However, in such case the single lever pressing against one side of the shoe would have a tendency to crowd such shoe sidewise, and this might result in destroying the proper adjustment of the inlet valve and might thereby materially interfere with the efficiency of the regulator. The second lever therefore serves as a guide for the shoe and to counteract the lateral pressure produced upon it by the other lever. By placing pivot 35 of lever 36 above the inlet valve 4 as shown, so as to have the axis of such valve placed at right angles to and in the same plane with the axis of such pivot, the line of pressure exerted by the eccentric upon the valve can be made to coincide substantially with the prolongation of the axis of the valve, and sideward pressure on said valve and binding of the same on its guiding surfaces and uneven wearing resulting therefrom will thereby be avoided.

42 is a disk mounted on tube 27 and supporting a conical spring 43 which bears against collar 26. serted between disk 42 and the sleeve 45, such sleeve on its lower outer surface being provided with screw-thread engaging with screwthread on the upper part of easing 7. Such sleeve on its upper end is provided with a flange or handle to facilitate its being screwed upward and downward.

The function of conical spring 43 is to aid in depressing the diaphragm whenever the pressure within casing 6 is receding, while sleeve 45 with spring 44 is to provide a limit to which the pressure within casing 6 maybe carried and at which it may be maintained. Thus, assuming that the greatest steady pressure contemplated within casing 6 be four pounds and that the smallest such pressure he one pound per square inch, the elastic resistance of spring 44 must be made to be somewhat greater than the greatest aggregate pressure resulting from such pressure of four pounds per square inch on the diaphragm, while the elastic resistance of spring 43 should be adjusted to be somewhat less than the outward pressure on the diaphragm with one pound of pressure per square inch within casing 6. Assuming that the condition and the position of the diaphragm as illustrated in Fig. 1 correspond with a pressure of one pound per square inch within casing 6, it will be 44 is a stronger spiral spring inseen that by screwing sleeve 45 downward, disk 42 and with it the diaphragm as well as rod 21 and shoe 33 will be depressed. This will result in swinging inward the upper ends of levers 36, 36, reducing the operative eccentricities at their lower ends, thereby permitting of a greater lift of the valve and consequently making it possible to carry a higher pressure within casing 6.

48 is a gage so graduated as to indicate to what elevation the top of sleeve 45 must be brought in order to secure a certain desired pressure within the regulator.

49 is a jam nut.

As Valve 4 particularly where it is brought in contact from tinie'to time with the seating surfaces provided for it on nipples 3 and on the levers is apt to wear, and as such wearing would result in changing the adj ustment of the regulator, we provide means for readjusting the parts as follows: In case of the wearing of the valve which would increase the effective inlet area to casing 6 and would thereby also affect the adjustment of levers 36, 36 it is only necessary to screw shoe 33 upward on rod 21 sufficiently to obtain the original relative adjustment of the valve, the levers and their hearing points'on the shoes. This screwing upward of shoe 33 can be accomplished under our construction, as follows, without being obliged to take apart the sections forming the indicator casing: After loosening jam nut 29, sleeve 28 is screwed upward on rod 21 so as to thereby loosen the tight joints previously existing between collar 26, diaphragm 16 and packing ring 23. It thus becomes possible to freely turn rod 21, and as the rollers 37, 37 attached to and forming parts of levers 36, 36 are firmly held against shoe 33 between shoulders 39, 39 such shoe will thereby be prevented from turning with rod 21, but will be screwed upward along said rod and a readjustment of the extreme effective outflow area around the valve will thereby be secured as mentioned above and it is thus made possible to always make scale 48 indicate correctly the pressure within the regulator.

46, 46 are slots cut in levers 36, 36.

47, 47 are set screws so inserted within the heavier outer parts of the levers where the same are slotted and resting on their inner parts in such a manner that byturning such set screws the upper ends of the slots may be enlarged by bending these inner parts inward. Thereby a proper centering of the shoe within casing 6 and between levers 46, 46 may be efiected.

WVhile it is desirable to employ rollers 37, 37 at the ends of levers 36, 36 where the same engage with shoe 33, in order .to reduce friction and wearing at those points, the use of such rollers is not absolutely required. It will also be seen that spring 44, while it may prove useful in case extraordinary pressures be produced upon the diaphragm by yieldingly resisting such pressures, might be omitted, in which case sleeve 45 would have to be made to rest directly on disk 42.

The only variation of our device illustrated in Fig. 2 refers to the construction of the diaphragm, an ordinary single diaphragm 43 being employed in said case and being made to actuate pressure rod 21 and with it shoe We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. In a pressure regulator, the combination with the casiu g having an inlet and an outlet, of the inlet valve, a diaphragm a shoe connected therewith, and a pivoted lever, the axis of the pivot being stationary and placed at right angles to and in the same plane with the axis of the valve, one of the ends of said lever-being formed as an eccentric, as 34, resting on the valve and the other end being made to engage with the shoe, substantially as set forth.

2. In a pressure regulator, the combination 1 with the casing having an inlet and an outlet, of the inlet valve, a diaphragm, a shoe connected therewith and provided with two surfaces sloping in opposite directions and two lovers interposed between shoe and valve and fulcrumed symmetrically with reference ,to the axis of the valve and adjusted to swing in opposite directions, and springs for pressing the levers against the slopes, for the purpose of preventing lateral movement of the shoe and securing true motion of the valve, substantially as set forth.

3. In a pressure regulator, the combination with the casing having an inlet and an outlet, of an elastic diaphragm and the inlet valve, of pressure rod 21 fastened to said diaphragm, sloping shoe 33 attached to said rod, and a lever 36 interposed between the valve and shoe and provided with an eccentric, as 34, actuating the valve, substantially as set forth.

4. In a pressure regulator, the combination of the casing having an inlet and an outlet, the diaphragm attached tothe casing, and the inlet valve, with a rod 21 supporting a shoulder 23 and passing through and attached to the diaphragm and extending outside of the casing, a pressure transmitting device between the rod and the valve, screw-threaded sleeve 28 engaging with such rod for tightening the joint between such shoulder and the diaphragm, a stop, as 42, for limiting the expansion of the diaphragm, and a second screwthreaded sleeve, as 45, surrounding aforesaid sleeve, for adjusting the position of such stop, substantiallyas set forth.

5. In a pressure regulator, the combination with the casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, of the inlet valve, a diaphragm attached to the casing, a pressure rod, as 21, passing through and attached to the diaphragm and extending outside of the casing and carrying a suitable shoulder against which the diaphragm is held, a sloped shoe, as 33, con nected with such rod by screw-thread arrangement,a lever interposed between shoe and inour invention we have signed our names, in let valve, and a sleeve as 28 engaging with presence of two witnesses, this 27th day of [0 rod 21 by screw-thread arrangement, for the January, 1893.

purpose of readj usting the position of the shoe ERNEST UN GER. on rod 21 and tightening the joint between PHILIP F. KRUG. rod 21 and the diaphragm, substantially as Witnesses: set forth. CHAS. L. HORACK.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as E. T. KEYSER. 

